But shortly after the story made its rounds around the internet, Google employees told AllThingsD that the reports were fake, and indeed a few minutes later ICOA CFO Erwin Vahlsing sent a statement simply saying, “It is false.”

Looking back on it, it does seem odd that an acquisition this big would be first reported on a PR news wire via a two-paragraph statement with grammatical errors and no comment from Google. But hindsight is 20/20. With the pressure of “scooping” a story and being the first to report on big news, sometimes reporters can forget to take a step back before hitting that publish button.

Taylor Soper is a GeekWire staff reporter who covers a wide variety of tech assignments, including emerging startups in Seattle and Portland, the sharing economy and the intersection of technology and sports. Follow him @taylor_soper and email taylor@geekwire.com.